MLS Sees 7% Growth In Attendance This Season

byDavidonNovember 2, 2011

The final numbers are in and Major League Soccer saw a 7% increase in attendance this year, from 16,675 fans per game to 17,870 fans according to MLSAttendance.blogspot.com .

Out of the 18 teams in MLS only four saw a decrease in average attendance. They were Chicago, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Toronto. Philadelphia’s name is on the list because in 2010 they played their opening games at Lincoln Financial and drew over 25,000 fans to some of those games. The Union’s soccer specific stadium is obviously smaller which is why they technically had a decrease in attendance.

The Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders both increased capacity for a few games resulting in a percent full stadium over 100%. The San Jose Earthquakes played at Stanford Stadium for a game on July 4th weekend and drew 41,028 fans resulting in an increase in attendance.

The new stadium in Kansas City is paying off as Sporting KC saw attendance rise from 10,287 to 17,810. It probably helped that KC were much better on the pitch this season than last season.

The Houston Dynamo and the Montreal Impact will both play in soccer specific stadiums next year while San Jose will have a soccer specific stadium complete in 2013. DC United and NE Revolution have no plans for soccer specific stadiums.